Parents, How Unfair is This?

[Kevenswife2]

We've taken our last four Disney vacations starting on Thanksgiving day and ending on the first Sunday in Dec. Our going during this time takes advantage of Thanksgiving's long weekend, and the 'deer day' our local school's closed for on the following Monday. So, we get 10 days to play at Disney and DD10 only misses 4 days of school.

Now here's my situation which I think is unfair. Besides having all the homework DD misses, her teachers' ask her to make a journal of her trip! She had so much homework last year (which she barely got done...much of it was beyond what the class was doing on her return). AND her teacher was asking for it the day after she returned! Who has time to make a journal too? The other children don't have to make one about their Thanksgiving break. I guess that's my gripe. She has all that homework to do, which I understand and help her with, but to make only her do a journal too?

DH and I don't like her taking in a journal as we feel the other children may feel DDs bragging. We live in a very rural area and many of the families will never make it to Disney. Going campings a big deal to them. When we first moved into this school district the kids would make fun of DD then 7 for wearing anything Disney .

 

[squirrel]

Wow, your school seems to give a lot of homework.

My cousins went with me to WDW and Universal for 10 days and missed school and their teachers gave them no work. I bought them each a journal and had them write in it everyday. It was great to see what they remembered that evening-they seemed to remember different things than my sister and I (we also keep a Journal).

I think a Journal is a great idea. Maybe you could talk to the teacher about getting some of the homework earlier so that you don't have to do it while on your trip. Also check with the teacher about the journal-maybe the teacher will be the only one reading it. If not-let him/her know your concerns over it.


My niece is starting Kindergarten and her work while at WDW is to draw a picture each day of something she sees. I also keep a Journal for her to look at when she is older. I did it last year while we were at DL and I will do another one for WDW.

 

[LadyShea]

Have you asked the teachers what the purpose of the journal is, and the motivation behind requesting it? Perhaps the school admins require it to excuse vacation days during school?

Otherwise, I agree with squirrel, a journal can be a great keepsake for your DD, even if she didn't turn it in to her teachers.

 

[Goofy'slady]

That's the one thing I fear when pulling my daughter out of school for our WDW vacation. She's never been given homework to do while we're away or expected to make up anything once we've returned and like you we're usually gone for 10-12days at a time. I think the key to our sucess is a combination of our school district and the fact that I don't let the school and the teachers know about our plans way in advance. I write a letter to both the school's front office and my daughter's homeroom teacher about 2 weeks before our scheduled trip. It might help that our trips usually happen in May, so that's about a month before school is out for the summer and the teachers are in a more relaxed mode in regards to statewide testing(happens in April), science fairs(again, in April) and most major projects.

This year she'll be graduating from 5th grade and our WDW trip is a combination of our annual fam vaca and her gift(we're doing lots of extras that we normally don't do, like staying on property, dining plan, ect. to make it more special). I don't antiscipate a problem but if there becomes one I guess we'll have a struggle on our hands.

Here's hoping you don't have to deal with all of that journal/homework mess, because I remember having to do that one year in 6th grade and that totally sucked the magic out of my "Magical" Disney vacation.

T.

 

[In a hurry]

A lot of class time is missed, as well as specific table work. Writing is good for kids, and is a nice keepsake for the child. If this isn't the same teacher, you've no clue how much work will be sent, right? It seems to me you are having a tizzy over a molehill.

 

[Kevenswife2]

A lot of class time is missed, as well as specific table work. Writing is good for kids, and is a nice keepsake for the child. If this isn't the same teacher, you've no clue how much work will be sent, right? It seems to me you are having a tizzy over a molehill.

You're right, I don't know what this years teacher is going to request. It's just something which has bothered me over the last couple of years. I was curious what other parents thought.

My DD10 is an excellent student. She was in the gifted program for reading last year. The year before, a book which she wrote and illustrated for the Reading Rainbow Young Author's contest won first place for second grade students in our PBS viewing area. She also entered a different story last year and was given an honorable mention (yes, proud mama bragging ).

I have no problem with her writing a journal (other than we open and close a park each day) but in addition to all the other work, I think it's unfair. Especially when the other children don't have to write about their five day Thanksgiving break.

 

[In a hurry]

Well, if you are talking "fair" it isn't "fair" your kids is getting out of school in the first place.

I'm glad she likes writing. That is a fun contest! Journaling will be a blessing in her life. Don't let your opinion taint hers.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

I just have to say, thanks for the reminder. We will be down the same time as you and I forgot about opening day of hunting season. We too are closed.
Last year DS had a ton of work to do but managed to get it done. Also DDs teacher forgot .... ugh..... to send her work along, I even sent reminders the week before, so when she got back she had a ton of makeup work to do. You could do the pre printed journal pages found on the board and have her fill them in. Good Luck.
Lori

 

[Schmeck]

You guys seriously have no school on one day because hunting season starts?

If your child is missing four days of school, that would be about 24 hours of class time missed, right? So having 24 hours of work to do seems about right.

 

[In a hurry]

We have days off for hunting. They replace other days off, of course.

 

[Anonomom]

The other kids aren't getting extra homework for their 5-day break, but neither is your daughter. She's missing almost an entire week of school on top of the break, and I don't think spending a few minutes each day writing in a journal is too much to ask in return. She doesn't need to write about Disney specifically, does she? She can talk about spending time with her family,things she's learned, etc.

I kind of think missing school is a big deal. I clearly remember struggling with certain concepts as a kid because I was out of school when they were taught. Maybe the homework and journal will end up making it easier for your daughter in the long run.

Just out of curiosity -- your sig says you're going to Disney in September. Is that in addition to the November trip? And is your daughter missing school for that one, too?

 

[pooh4evr]

I have to agree that it really isn't too much to ask I always sent work for kids to do when they missed school for vacations.

 

[Camno's Mama]

I think it's always a risk when you take them out of school. While I understand that going on vacation during the school year is a lot easier for many reasons, this is one of the ways that it's not. If it bothers you to this extent, you may be better off taking a summer vacation. The school gets no say in that. If you go on their time, you have to abide by their rules. Even if it is only the four days out of ten.

I think it's a fair request...and it's a good lesson for your daughter as well. She's learning that you have to sacrifice sometimes to get something you really want. I would just get a lot of the homework done with her before the vacation, on the plane, etc. And do the journaling at night before she goes to bed or right after she gets up in the morning.

It probably won't be as bad as you think it will...have fun and good luck!

 

[happymommy]

It doesn't sound unfair to me. When DS was 5, we went to Hawaii for 2 weeks in January. He kept a "journal" as well - he was only 5 so it was some pictures he drew and a few little sentences. No big deal.

Just make sure you tell the teacher it's for their eyes only - not the other students.

I don't think it's unfair at all, though.

 

[Aliceacc]

She's making up the HOMEWORK but also missing 4 days of SCHOOLWORK.

I think that writing in a journal is pretty miminal compared to what her classmates will be doing during her absence. My 10 year old will be doing math, science, social studies, reading and a variety of other things in addition to a daily writing assignment during those 4 days.

 

[zoemurr]

posted here? Last year my DDs teacher requested she do a journal for the week we pulled her. (She didn't have to make up any other work though.)

Anyway, I was thrilled that she did, 'cause that meant that she got it done. We printed out some of the journal pages posted at the top of this page. They are rather quick and easy, but look wonderful, and you can do as few/many as you want. We got it all done the weekend after we got back, and put in some photos and any fun clippings. We put them all in page protectors and in a binder. It's an amazing keepsake and album to show people.

If all the work bothers you I would ask the teacher if she can have a few extra days after vacation to complete it. I don't think anyone who hasn't been to Disney understands there is no downtime. If you're worried about sharing the journal explain this to the teacher and ask if she can show it to them privately. Most teachers aren't unreasonable if you explain your situation. You might not get a lot of sympathy for pulling your kid for Disney though. Some school districts don't allow it at all, or the kids need to take zeros for the missed work.

Have fun! We decided not to pull them from school this year as DD was in 4th grade and I felt she was getting too old to miss school. So we're leaving in 2 days! I actually just finished printing off journal pages so my DS can do it this year.

 

[Justish]

To snag the convo -

I feel you OP, sometimes teachers think that since a vacation is all fun and
games they need to pile on the extra work so that the child does not "fall
behind" without realizing that the POINT of a vacation is to GET AWAY from
all of that! I mean, when most people take their paid vacation, are their
bosses handing them reports to fill out as they walk out the door, expecting
them done when they arrive for work after the trip? Most of the time not.

Same ideas should apply to students! While i understand some work must
be done to maintain a passing level in the class, vacation is not an excuse
to add to the work load of the child while they are away! That is just not
the point of a vacation. The only time this should change is if the child is
obviously taking off tons of time and constantly falling behind or missing
class do to numerous family "vacations". But I think 4 days of family time
outside of the pre-scheduled vacation is not going to break the proverbial
education bank.

I also know how it feels to be the kid at Disney whose magic is crushed due
to ties back to school.

I missed the only chance I'd get to see illuminations because my English
teacher called my cell phone to inform me that I was going to fail that
term of English because he couldn't find my final paper. Across the country
I was frantically trying to find a friend who could get into my house, print
out a copy of the paper I HAD turned in (and was found later) and get to
the teacher before he left the school that night in order to save my grade.
I would never wish that feeling of loss of peace and tranquillity while on
a vacation to anyone, adult or child.

~Ally

 

[sk!mom]

I have no problem with her writing a journal (other than we open and close a park each day) but in addition to all the other work, I think it's unfair. Especially when the other children don't have to write about their five day Thanksgiving break.

If they are giving an excused absence then whatever they ask for is "fair." In a lot of districts a vacation could be marked as unexcused with no makeup work accepted. The child's grade would drop dramatically in this case.

Everyone else is sitting in a classroom while your DD is at WDW- is that "fair"? The school is granting excused absences for a vacation and apparently not giving you a problem. You should consider yourself lucky as this is not always the case as we often read here.

If it's too much make up work, then don't vacation during the school year. My DD takes challenging advanced classes and the fact that she wouldn't be able to fully relax due to all of the make up work is the reason that I wouldn't plan a trip during the school year.

 

[abdmom]

I mean, when most people take their paid vacation, are their
bosses handing them reports to fill out as they walk out the door, expecting
them done when they arrive for work after the trip?

Actually, if someone were taking a vacation above and beyond what they were allotted at work, their boss would be handing a pink slip as they walk out the door.

Asking a student to keep a journal while on vacation during school-time is a very minimal assignment in this former teacher's opinion.

 

[Aristomommy]

DD9 kept a journal during our busy 2 week vacation this summer. What I did was pre-make the pages with pictures of the sites we were going to. Each page also had lines for writing. You could do something similar for WDW. Have some pages ready to go and she can write them if you take an afternoon break, before going to bed or even on the airplane on the way home. It shouldn't take too long to complete if you do much of it even before leaving.

We no longer take time off during the school year for WDW. We did this in 3rd and 4th grade and the homework and missed work for 3 days was quite a bit!!!